God is reaching out to help us in our battle against the forces of evil.
After focusing on the celestial battle with the fallen angels in St. Michael’s Lent, we now turn to the battles we face in the world. A hundred and sixty years before the coming of Christ, the Jews rose up in revolt against the Greek Empire that was imposing pagan ways in the Holy Land. Ordinary men banded together to push back and restore the ability to freely worship God. There is much we can learn from this battle, as we too band men together in fraternity to live faithfully to God in the midst of an insurgent paganism.
During Battles of Autumn: Inspired to Lead, we will be reading the book of First Maccabees, which narrates the story of the Jewish uprising. We will also focus on sustaining a simple and sustainable Plan of Life. This includes identifying the key battles we must face in our daily life and forming a plan of attack with the support of our brothers. God is calling us to lead other men to him and to awaken to the battle raging within and around us. Our reflections will unpack how we can lead other men to be active in battle and support one another in this fight.
We have a few other highlights. First, after reading through First Maccabees, we will finish with ten days devoted to practical approaches to Christian leadership written by Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB. In addition to our daily reflections, we will have four Fireside Chats on Fatherhood with Jason Craig, author of Leaving Boyhood Behind: Reclaiming Catholic Brotherhood, and Jared Staudt, our Director of Content. During the first eight days of November, we will offer an octave of prayers for the dead. We will collect the names of our own departed loved ones who we will remember by name.
It can be easier to focus on spiritual growth during more intense times of year such as the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent or during Exodus 90.
We cannot let down our guard during seemingly quieter times of year like the fall. The Christian life isn’t something you’re called to live for 40 or 90 days at a time–it’s for life! Keep up the good work that Christ has begun in you, and keep growing in freedom and formation every day.
